White Buffalo Extended Ending
by ckorkows
Summary: What happened after the Rangers left Sydney's room.  A S/G oneshot.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. I do not own the main plot to "White Buffalo" nor the brief quote at the beginning which is in italics. I don't claim them, so don't sue me.**_

_**Hey all, another one-shot, this one is an extension of the episode, "White Buffalo" and details what happened after everyone else left. I'm assuming that you know who is going to be featured in this little story so please, let me know what you think and as always…**_

_**Enjoy the Ride, **_

_**Ckorkows**_

**White Buffalo: Extended Ending**

_Gage waited until he was sure Trivette was out of range to hear him, "You know Syd, I think I'll just stick around for a bit…in case you need anything. I'll be real quiet."_

_Sydney rolled her eyes, smiling up at her partner, "Gage, you don't have to stay, really."_

_Gage looked everywhere but at his partner, trying to come up with a reason…any reason, that wasn't the truth, "Yeah….but…you'd do it for me." _

_Sydney dropped her gaze back down to her book, hiding a smile as she feigned interest in the words, "No. I wouldn't."_

_Gage scoffed, plunking down onto the narrow hospital bed beside his partner, "Yeah. You would."_

Sydney refused to scoot over, her partner sounded too damn sure of himself. She continued the argument, enjoying the other Ranger's company more than she should have, "No I wouldn't."

About to fall off the bed, Gage unconsciously wrapped an arm around his partner's slender shoulders, careful not to jar her wounded arm as he pressed his side down the length of her. Sydney scooted away, trying to put distance between herself and the muscular body of her partner as he continued the argument. "You would."

Sydney jerked her head to look at Gage's face as he once again scooted tight against her. He was smiling down at her and his blue eyes seemed to be softer than they usually were when he teased her. She narrowed her eyes at him as he wound a strand of chestnut hair in his fingers, "I thought you said you'd be quiet."

Gage chuckled, the timbre of it sending a shiver through his partner as he put a finger to his lips, "I will, once you stop arguing with me."

Sydney closed her mouth with an almost audible snap and looked back down at the book in her hands, forcing herself to read the words that seemed to jump around the page as her partner settled into bed beside her. His fingers were still caught up in her hair and she could feel them as they gently brushed through the tangled tresses. Gage's breathing was strong and steady, the rise and fall of his chest as soothing as the light tap of rain against the hospital window. She closed her eyes, sighing as she tilted her head back against his arm…it made a nice pillow.

As his partner relaxed into him, Gage's head began to spin just a little. The fear, the relief... it all came back, hitting him hard - right in the heart - with a punch that was ten times worse than sparring with Walker.

When Walker had told him Sydney had been shot he'd almost had a heart-attack right then and there. The thought of Sydney laying on the ground, broken, her blood pouring into the soil made Gage's heart clench. She was his partner, his one true friend, and he hadn't been there for her when she'd needed him. He couldn't help but play the 'what if' game in his head. What if Walker hadn't gotten there in time? What if Fawn hadn't known how to stop the bleeding? What if the gunman had better aim?

Sydney opened her eyes when Gage's arm tightened around her, she glanced up at his face and was shocked to see that it was drawn with a painful, almost angry, expression. She realized that she must have fallen asleep and tried to pull away from Gage but he held on, tightening his arm around her and looking down at her with his too-blue eyes. There was a wave of emotions that threatened to break out from behind those shining orbs, the magnitude of it causing Sydney's breath to catch.

"Gage?"

He held her gaze, memorizing her features in a new way as a conversation he'd held with Trivette earlier in the week tickled his brainwaves. _His job didn't make it impossible to have a normal relationship with a woman_, he mused, tilting his head to get a better view of a smudge on his partner's cheek, _he had a perfectly normal relationship with a perfectly beautiful woman already_.

Gage's hand ran up the back of her neck, bunching her hair in it as he cradled her head in his palm, holding her. Sydney felt a shiver of awareness run through her a moment before Gage tilted his head toward her, eyes open and shining, and brushed his lips across hers in a way that was so brief Sydney wasn't even sure he had kissed her.

Gage smiled, she hadn't jerked away, and dipped his head once more to capture her lips fully this time. Sliding his tongue out to taste the sweet flavor of his partner's lips, Gage groaned and backed off.

Sydney opened her eyes a slant as her partner pulled away, tilting her head as he gazed tenderly at her, "Gage?"

"Sydney," Gage's thumb brushed across her cheek, grazing the scratches on her face as he pondered what to say. How do you tell someone as brave and beautiful and independent as his partner that you wish you could be there to save them – always – and that you wish you could kiss the pain away and keep kissing until it turned into something else. How do you apologize for not being there when you weren't expected?

Sydney solved the problem for him, leaning forward and pressing her lips, hot, against his. Like the great partners they had always been, she knew exactly what he wanted her to know.

_**Hey all, I hope you enjoyed the ride! This one has been in the works for a really long time, I just couldn't figure out the ending. I know I've been out of the works for a while and I unfortunately can't make promises about my fics in progress, but I hope this tides you over for a while. Thanks for the ride!**_

_**Ckorkows**_


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